Roller Coaster
by Sik1
Summary: Fresh out of college, Natsuki lands the job of her life. What's left to do but to celebrate? Nurse the hangover of a lifetime. AU, some Language.
1. Of All The Gin Joints In All The World

Hey peep's, what up? This came out randomly and out of the blue. I wanted to try something less dramatic and more lighthearted, so when the idea poped up I just had to write it. Excuse the mistakes XP

Disclaimer: No...

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"Get off your lazy drunken ass mutt, you've got work tomorrow!" Nao yelled irritated at the lack of response, "Dammit Kuga, I recomended you for this possition so you'd better not make me look bad!"

"Ch- chill out Naaaao, I'm just a l-little tipsss..."

"Aww crap, I shouldn't have listened to Mai, you're worthless!"

"Wheres?" She looked around a little too quickly making her head spin. "Wheres Maiiii? Ughhh."

"She's calling Tate to come pick us up, according to her she's gonna need extra help to keep you from jumping out the window." She said looking in the direction Mai had gone off to. The red head was just outside, phone in hand and back to the window, her body languge screaming frantic irritation. They must be fighting again. "Look's like we're gonna be here a while..."

Nao was about to order another drink when she heard snoring."Oi, Kuga wake up!" She smacked the table.

The snoring stoped and the bluenette slowly opened her unfocused eyes, smirking. "Hey sexyyy."

Nao's eyes widened in disgust and this time she smacked the girl over the head.

"O-oww, crap," Natsuki rubed her head and looked up, "N-nao? Oh shit, I thought you where someone hot."

Nao's eyebrow twitched, "That's it, you're waiting on your own!" She pushed herself off the table angrily, "And don't you dare come late to work, got it!? I swear if you do..." She mumbled as she stomped off to the bar, head shaking and hands in her pockets.

"Naooooo d-dont leave...." A drunken Natsuki slurred, she stumbled her way to the bar and got halfway until she triped, landing with a dull 'thud' on the floor.

She didn't move since she was so tierd and the light's of the bar where making her dizzy.

Natsuki closed her eyes as sleep came and then, she heard a small groan from undereath her and blinked. _Soft?_ She pulled back and saw a pair of mesmerizing red eyes. Then she saw no more.

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There was a lot of noise. Cars where running, people where shouting and doors where slamming. The bluenette felt a cold breeze on her face and frowned, _'Mai never leaves the window open...'_

_'Owww, what the-' _

Natsuki was awoken by a sharp pain in her head and grunted. She looked around noticing this place was unfamiliar and sat up quickly, feeling the air hitting again's her mostly bare body. _'Mai? Nao?' _She looked down at herself, _'I only have my pants on...'_

She felt her foot knocking something down and tilted her head in the direction of it. It was a purse. She didn't have a purse.

A thin plastic card caught her attenntion. _Shizuru Fujino, Grade: 12, Student number 083-_ Wait a minute!

She snapped her head to the other side of the bed not caring about the pain the action caused and saw brown hair and bare shoulders, the rest of the body was covered by the sheets. There where two mints on the nightstand.

_'A hotel... Oh shit!'_ As everything clicked Natsuki grabed the nearest set of clothes and ran into the bathroom in a panick. After locking it she leaned over the sink and cursed over and over again. '_No, no, no, no! I couldn't, not with a-... I wouldn't! What the hell is a damn kid doing at a bar anyways!'_

Natsuki cradled her pounding head trying convince herself that this was all a mistake. It had to be, it just had to.

She went on and on for a while until a crashing noise followed by the door slamming caught her attention. Natsuki rushed out of the bathroom and found the bed empty, the remaining clothes gone and no purse. When had the kid woken up? She couldn't help the small wave of relieve that hit her, but it was still not strong enough to get the panick out of her mind. She had to get out of here.

She went back into the bathroom and pulled on her shirt, them reached for her hoodie and frowned when all she could find was another shirt, and surely enough it wasn't her's. _'Oh hell...'_

Natsuki searched the room twice before giving up and growling. She would never speak of this day to anyone, as far as Natsuki Kuga knew this never happened.

She took one last look at the room and sighted.

_'She took my favorite hoodie...'_

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That morning Natsuki was thirty minutes late to work with the mother of all hang overs and what's even worse, her head was a mess. She was in no condition to work but she couldn't skip out on this job. This sales division company was big, way bigger than a graduate could hope for on her first try. The company's name was... what was it again? Ugh... She made a mental vow to never touch another drink agan.

She stepped into the building seeing all the shinny cars and newest motorcycles. As of this moment she was a sales woman, well, if they hadn't fired her already her that is.

Her concerns where the bike's of course, but that didn't mean that was all she could try to sell. Anything to get the top sellers spot.

"Mutt!" The yell made her pounding head worse and she scowled, "Where have you been!"

"Not now Nao..."

Nao took a step back and looked at her friend, "You look like hell."

"You have no idea..."

"Mai is worried sick about you, you should have called!"

"Quit yellin' already, I'll call in a minute."

Nao slapped her fore head lightly making Natsuki wince, "You're so irresponsible, the boss has been looking for you."

"Am I fired?" Natsuki asked while rubbing her head. God, she didn't feel good.

"I dunno."

She cursed under her breath and walked towards the office. Nao shrugged and went back to her division, Kuga could handle her own problems.

She knocked before opening the door slowly after her boss quickly told her to step inside. Her boss was a sturdy man, with light hair and a kind smile, which was surprising considering the man didn't seem the type to smile. However, she couldn't deny that there was something strange about him.

"Kuga, you don't look so good." He said offhandedly, looking at some papers on his desk.

"Ah, sorry for comming in late."

"It's been a slow day, don't worry about it."

"Still..." Natsuki couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Then, should I dock your pay?" He turned to her. Teasing.

"N-no!" She fell for it.

"Then leave it." He smiled even wider. "Take a seat, I have a job for you."

She nodded slowly and looked at his name tag. _I've seen that name before..._

A few minutes passed in silence, the only noise being her boss moving around stack after stack of papers. It looked like a boring job. The office door opened and her boss looked up smiling again. "Ah, you're here. Come in, there is someone I'd like you to me."

Natsuki stated looking around her boss' desk, the man had only two pictures, One was of himself and a woman, _'His wife.'_ She figured. The second was of a younger girl, really pretty infact, she looked just like him. The bluenette was about to ask who this was when another voice imterrupted her.

"Ara? Who could it-"

Natsuki heard a falter in the steady steps, taking her eyes off the picture she look up in curiosity.

"Hey, don't stop there. Come here." Her boss told the other person. The girl listened and stood next to the man, and Natsuki found herself staring into two pairs of reds. Her breathing stop.

"Natsuki Kuga, this is Shizuru Fujino. My daughter." He paused to hug the brunette briefly, "Shizuru, Natsuki is new here like you so I'd like you both to help eachother out as much as you can. But remeber, you are only an intern here so don't take on too much work load. Save the over achievement for school."

He laughed loudly, proud of his daughter, not noticing the two girls face's of horror, realization sinking in for both at the same time. Shizuru turned pale as she took a good look at the bluenette her father wanted her to become attached to. Well, to be fair, she had already been... attached.

Natsuki felt her blood run cold. Her boss daughter. '_Oh, shit...'_

She was sooo fired.

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Shizuru is younger here because... I don't know. That's just how it played in my head XD

I don't even know where to go from here or if I'll update this soon, I hope so, but it I wanna know what you think. The moral of this story is: It's not alway as bad as you think.


	2. Call To Arms

**Wow. I was a little worried this story might come on a little strong but it seems not, that's cool. I wanted to update sooner but I kept changing this chapter around until I was comfortable with it. I noticed (not to mention I was told XD) a lot of spelling errors on the last chapter and again I apologize for them. I tried to keep all errors down this time. **

**There where a few reviews I couldn't reply to, and I wish I could have. I'm still greatful for them and taking some advice I am now looking for a beta for this story. If anyone is interested pm me and if not, I guess I'll just have to manage.**

**Disclaimer: Never...**

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_"This is Shizuru Fujino."_

_That's a pretty name..._

_Grade:12, Student number:O83-_

_What the- ?_

_A hotel. Brown hair and bare shoulders._

_...Uh. _

_"My daughter."_

_The boss has a... Oh, god!_

At this point Natsuki began searching for any and all exits available before the spilling of any blood occurred. She evaluated the situation as carefully as her hung over mind could do and only came up with one conclusion: Fight or flight.

She didn't notice when her boss's phone rang, and she didn't notice the man apologizing and stepping out. Natsuki couldn't keep still, her body was automatically attempting to run while her mind firmly kept her in place. What was she going to do? She glanced at the young intern and immediately her mind began thinking about what must have taken place. _I can't even look her in the eye!_

Then she noticed Shizuru sightly fidgeting.

She took a shaky breath. _Alright, calm down Kuga. You're the adult here._

So being the adult in the room Natsuki decided to start a friendly conversation, sadly she hadn't counted on her stupid brain to come up with the worst possible thing to say, "Erm. I still... got your shirt."

Shizuru cleared her throat, "Excuse me." And headed for the door.

_Dammit!_ Natsuki rushed forward and caught the girl's wrist, "Hold on!"

The blunette felt_... something_ at the contact but immediately discarded it as her nerves getting the best of her. Shizuru was surprised at the older woman's actions, the thing that had occurred between them was a mistake. So then why was Natsuki so...

Noticing the intern's pause Natsuki took it as her cue to speak, "The thing... that," _night_, " I- I'm-... " She became frustrated at herself. Why couldn't the words come out?

In all of her inner panic she hadn't noticed her flustered face nor odd looks Shizuru was giving her.

Then the door slammed open revealing an energetic man.

"Kuga! What are you doing-!"

"Nothing, I swear!" She immediately let go of the girl and tripped backwards, luckily her boss caught her.

"Geez Kuga, calm down. I didn't know you where so jumpy." His demeanor changed and he suddenly looked very amused.

"I was only wondering if you had plans for lunch," Her boss said, she let out a breath of relieve and for a second Natsuki thought she heard a stifled giggle from somewhere in the room, "I have a potential customer who wants to come in, and I wanted you to show them around." He paused to scratch the back of his head, "Or maybe you and Shizuru could have lunch-"

"I'll do it!" She said loudly."The customer, I mean. Not your daught- " _Gah!_

"Why not?" He asked confused.

How could she explain? She just tried to reach out and it was too awkward, there was no way she would survive any more alone time this soon. It was pathetic, and Natsuki felt like she was in high school all over again. The problem is she didn't know why.

"F-father, why don't you and I have lunch?." Shizuru cut in, surprised at her own stutter, "You could show me around the building like you wanted."

"Really? You never offer to spend time with me." Her father's face turned into a dreamy look.

Shizuru nodded at her father, patting his shoulder. The man puffed out his chest and smiled proudly taking his daughters offer to heart.

_What and odd man..._ Natsuki thought.

Natsuki sweat dropped as Shizuru turned to her with the fakest smile to burn out a thousand suns. Mechanically, the girl extended her hand out to her, "Nice to meet you, Kuga."

And that's when Natsuki realized that unlike her father Shizuru's smiles where not bright. In fact, they almost made her frown. So the girl wanted to act like nothing happened? Alright then, she could do that.

Natsuki took a firm grip of the offered hand with conviction, "Since it looks like we'll be seeing a lot out of each other, _Fujino_,"She took the pleasure of seeing Shizuru's eyes widened ever so slightly and with a new found confidence she took her first step forward, "It's ok to call me Natsuki."

Shizuru stared intently into green eyes, "Then likewise."

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"Alright mutt, since I'm the only friendly face you know around here the boss wants me to give you a crash course before the customer arrives." Nao said, "So pay attention, you've go until lunch time to get it."

"Did you just say friendly?"

"If that's all you got out of my mini speech then we'll really have a problem." Nao lead her to a small cubicle, "Please tell me you know how to use and office? I really don't want to spend more time with you than I have to."

Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Has anyone ever told you that you suck at this?"

"I'm just trying to get to the good stuff." Nao leaned against the desk."Now sit, you have much to learn."

Natsuki pulled out the chair and sat, noting how comfortable it was.

"Alright, step one: Smile." She turned to Natsuki, "C'mon girl, smile for me."

Natsuki snarled due to the condescending tone and Nao shook her head, "Hey, put that away, you are not showing _that_ to a customer."

"The how do you manage?"

"Watch it mutt-" Nao was interrupted by the loud eruption of whispers that exploded within the office.

A spiky haired young man stepped inside confidently with a smirk on his face. All eyes where on him as he took off his coat and flung it over his shoulder making a few women nearby giggle. The tan man brushed a hand through his messy hair and joined a group of co workers, getting even more attention. People walking by greeted him, while women watching from afar flirted with their eyes.

He was a big shot.

"Ugh, welcome to Takeda." Nao said with a tone of irritation.

"You make him sound like his own division."

"Because that's practically how much he sells. This guy," She pointed to the chart, "Is number one. Don't expect any bonuses with him around."

Natsuki stared at the man for a few seconds and couldn't belive what Nao was saying. This man was the top seller? He looks like a twit! Takeda suddenly turned in her direction and winked. It made her feel sick._ Ewww..._

Natsuki dismissed it easily, she couldn't find anything special about him. Takeda on the other hand was beyond shocked, no woman had ever turned away from him. Before he could do anything about it though, Nao moved in front of the blunette blocking his view.

"Now ignoring that guy, check it out," Nao paused to point,"The boss's daughter."

Natsuki's back grew stiff before turning to where Nao pointed. There was no way in hell she was telling Nao. Natsuki had already decided that she wouldn't involve anyone in this mess, especially since Shizuru hadn't told her father. It was better to just forget about everything and not telling anyone else made it easier.

Shizuru was near the water cooler speaking on her cell phone and holding a binder with her left hand, She had a relaxed face as she stood against the wall. Natsuki stared at the younger girl's face for a while, there was still a small part of her that rejected the thought of that night. That same part that still wanted a way out.

"The boss has been excited about his kid coming in, all week. He's been warning all the guys to steer clear like crazy, quite the over protective father." It wasn't really her style but even Nao could see why the boss was so worried. The kid wasn't that bad.

Natsuki found herself turning in her seat, facing her cubicle's wall and crossing her arms. "Geez Nao, quit getting distracted already, I got a customer to entertain remember?"

Nao gave her a puzzled look before shaking the surprise off, she was already used to the blunette's mood swings and didn't think much of it. Hell, it was a good thing that Kuga was actually serious about this, it meant her anti social friend was finally taking something serious in her life. The lecture went on with much teasing and arguments, but smoothly enough to get the point across.

By the time lunch came Natsuki was doing her best to remeber everything Nao had told her. Smile, confidence, friendly charm; those, amongst the things she actually did forget, where the key points.

The customer came and went really fast, Natsuki didn't pay much attention, her thoughts being occupied elsewhere. Just last night she had been so excited about this job that it seemed nothing could ruin it. Nothing except good ol' gin...

The customer turned out to be an esteemed business woman who was looking for something flashy to take to her meetings. Natsuki took her around to look at Lincoln's, BMW's, and any other classy brands she could think of. In the end the woman smiled and said she would come back once she made her choice, but only if Natsuki received her. It seems Natsuki had had 'charmed' her costumer.

The rest of the day was a blur for her as she did basic paper work and hid whenever Shizuru walked by. Hey, she might have decided to act like normal but it was still awkward as hell. Not to mention Shizuru walked by like _every_ five minutes...

By the end of the day Natsuki was ready to meet Nao back at the car when some guy she'd seen around walked over to her and waved. She waited, as the guy took his sweet time, impatiently.

"Kuga, here." He handed her a small note."The boss needs a favor."

"For what?"

"Read it."

Natsuki frowned at his lack of response but ignored it quickly, not caring. She unfolded the paper and read.

_"Kuga, it looks like your first day went by without a hitch, you fit in just fine. I'm sorry I couldn't hand this to you myself but I have a few last minute meetings that just sprung up on me. Which bring me to my point, tomorrow morning I need you to run a few errands for me. I cleared your schedule already so don't worry about that._

_My daughter has some school activities she has to attend to and sadly her ride bailed on her last minute... I know I'm not giving you much of an option here but I really need the favor, my daughter is pretty important in school you see, just like her father (ha!). Any ways just stop by the back garage tomorrow and I'll provide you with the car._

_I had a few doubts about asking but I know you won't let me down :) thanks in advance!"_

The note ended with a disturbing amount of smiley faces and encouraging words making Natsuki twitch. A ride? She was a sales woman dammit, not a chauffeur! And then it sank in.

_Shizuru's ride..._

She groaned, crushing the paper. Why couldn't anyone ever give her a break?

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**One of these day's I'm going to update on a normal time of day... It's almost 3 am. **

**T****his chapter might have been a little 'slow' but it's only an introduction to the next one so please bear with it. Shizuru's dad is a rather colorful character and totally fun to writte :D he's just so clueless. **

**Review? Yes? Yes...**


	3. Hurricane Streets

**So it's been a while... my bad. I've been spreading myself thin lately and it's not that much fun but I'll mange. This chapter took way too many re writes. I just couldn't figure out what to leave out and what to put in XP I'm satisfied with it at the moment, usually I always look back and find something I dislike.**

**As always I really appreciate you guys, giving this story the time of day and sometimes even leaving a comment. I mean, how else am I supposed to know if I'm doing good? Also for everyone else who follows this thanks, and as a little extra to everyone I present to you all the boss, Just take the spaces out and it should work...**

**http : / / i98 . photobucket . com / albums / af10 / Sik2 / Picturezzzzz005 . jpg**

**I want to draw him again.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing, zip, zero, nada!**

**(/Chap 3)**

"I mean just look at it, this... this perfectly chiseled specimen of architecture!" The boss said with an unbelievably excited face, "Doesn't it just make you wonder how such perfect things can exist?"

"Sure..." Natsuki awkwardly answered, she wasn't comfortable with the way her boss expressed himself over a car. Sure it's sleek, black paint spoke of luxury along with it's immense curves and powerful look; and yeah that 'Bentley' brand only added to it's appeal but still, it was still just a car. Nothing would change her mind that is, until her eyes caught sight of the newest addition to the Ducati line.

_Now there's a specimen... _

Honestly, her boss's garage could only be described with one word: awesome. Come to find out, this place was the man's personal space where he took close friends and relatives to sell them the newest vehicles, sometimes before they even hit the market. The second Natsuki stepped inside she found herself in awe, surrounded by many wonderful things.

Wonderful things which were definitely absent mere minutes before finding the place. Unfortunately for Natsuki, her unfamiliarity with the dealership and it's many rooms worked against her, causing her to meet her fellow co workers in a very unpleasant way. She shuddered at the memory of it.

She had just met Aoi and Chie a few minutes ago in the file room next to the garage. Well she hadn't met them personally, it was more like she first met Chie's bare back side before slamming the door shut and cursing multiple times because you see, In those few seconds of shock Natsuki had seen some very inappropriate extracurricular activities going on.

Shortly after, Chie had rushed out fully clothed, to apologize and explain, to which Natsuki replied that she didn't need explanation. After that show she needed a few days off and professional help.

Chie laughed, pointed her in the right direction and walked back saying she had work to start and Natsuki couldn't have been happier. Really, what was wrong with people? Couldn't they keep it in they pants until they got home or something?

_Or a hotel..._ She flinched.

"What's wrong Kuga? You're all turning red." The man said, bringing her back to the present. Natsuki frowned at her traitorous thoughts, putting all her effort into making color on her face go away.

"Nothing, I was just..." She paused trying to find an excuse, "appreciating the fine specimen... of architecture." She finished lamely. _Note to self, never trust brain in tight situations.  
_  
"Isn't it!" He bought it, completely enthusiastic about his big boy car. It figures the big dealership owner was a car lover, this must have been a dream job. "But as much as I'd love to just stand here and watch we've both got our duties to get to." He sighed, reaching into his pocket.

Natsuki didn't like her duties one bit, and the fact that her day had already started with strange moments almost seemed like a bad omen. Hell, earlier this morning Nao pulled her back right before she walked out the door and told her to 'get on the kid's good side'. Natsuki had only given her an empty look, which meant that the blunette was lost in her own thoughts but Nao just rolled her eyes and continued.

_"You've read the guide right? It'll be easy, just sell yourself." _

She said confidently, trying to be encouraging to her friend. Now, Natsuki could have left it, she could have just nodded and left, but this moment just asked for it.

_"Good god Nao!" _She said dramatically, _"I know where you've been, but to actually sugest that I--" _

That was when Nao pushed her out the door, muttering something about locking the doggy door for the night. Natsuki was just relived, she had to distract her roommate out of the workers guide subject. Nao had given it to Natsuki about a week before the blunette had gotten the position, specifying that if the mutt did not memorize the whole thing by the time she was in the office, she could kiss her video games goodbye.

Natsuki didn't believe her roommate would truly go that far, but she didn't want to upset her with little things either. She'd much prefer to do so with her big pranks, so she didn't put up much of an argument and decided to get to it. Until she saw the size of the damned thing. That's when celebrating got her attention and eventually made her forget all about the guide. Now here she was, gripping a copy of it in one hand and resigning herself to her strange day.

"Helloooo!" Her boss was waving a hand in front of her face with a curious look, pulling her yet again, out of her moment. "You've been spacing out a few times, it's not good when you're on the road you know." He said calmly but with worry on his face.

"I was just... reciting the guidelines on page... 12." Did she really know what page those guideline where on? No. But it's not like her boss has the thing memorized right?

"Hah! It's good to know at least someone reads my guide! Specially since I spent so much time working on it..." He trailed off looking a bit down before shaking his head, "but enough about that, here!"

He tossed her the keys and patted the car he'd been ogling, "Don't scratch it, don't crash it and most importantly _don't_ take the small streets. A car like this deserves to be seen by many!"

The mans laughter filled the room and bounced off the wall as Natsuki stared wide eyed at the vehicle in front of her, the Bentley GT continental. "You want me to take this!?"

All at once her boss stopped making noise and nearly recoiled at the yell, taken by surprise. "Is it not good enough?" He asked in a small voice, and Natsuki couldn't believe that he believed that. This was probably the most expensive car she'd ever seen, not that she'd seen many luxury cars but this job guaranteed the sight of many more. "Cause I could bust out my--"

"No! I didn't mean it like that, I was just surprised." She said, "I mean, this is probably worth more than my student loans." Natsuki forced a small smile for her boss. He seemed to have recovered though and smirked, silently telling her 'Ohhh, yes it is' with a confident smile.

Mr. Fujino was too rich for his own good.

**(0-0)**

Shizuru Fujino had just recently moved in with her parents meaning the neighborhood was fairly new to her, causing Natsuki's boss to hand her written directions to every place they had to make a stop at. To be honest, after reading said directions Natsuki would have much rather taken her chances with Shizuru. It was a miracle she even found the right house after reading, 'take a left on the first corner and a right after seeing the weird looking tree...'

Natsuki was debating on knocking when luckily for her a woman she was assuming to be , came out in a business attire and saw the car, recognizing it as her husbands and called her daughter out. Shizuru came soon after being called and bid her mother goodbye. Natsuki made sure to unlock the door for the girl to get in and caught waving at her from the corner of her eye.

Shizuru definitely took after her father in the looks department. While was a brunette as well, her shade was darker than the other members of the family, along with her eyes too which from the looks of it were brown.

"Good morning." Shizuru greeted. The teen looked comfortable in her unbelievably revealing school uniform. Natsuki had never noticed it before but this was just ridiculous, was this how she'd looked like back in her day?

"Ah." Natsuki agreed, nodding before she turned back trying to figure out the direction. She did need a distraction after all. Shizuru waited patiently for a few minutes before curiously peeking over her shoulder.

"Ara, if you don't mind me asking, what are you looking at?"

"This are direction, the boss said you're not used to the neighborhood so he wrote this." Natsuki said still not wanting to face her, after a second she frowned, her boss should just stick to street names. She kept moving the page around following what she believed to be a map. Shizuru smiled.

"Contrary to my father's belief," She spoke calmly, slowly taking the direction out of the blunette's hands, "I know exactly where we're going."

Natsuki swallowed, looking up and seeing Shizuru for the first time. The brunette had a simple smile as she carelessly tossed the directions out the window and for a second Natsuki thought that what had been tossed away was a lot more than a sheet of paper. "Alright." She didn't know why she'd said that, the only thing she noticed was the air feeling lighter.

The ride to their first stop was fairly uneventful, Shizuru only speaking whenever Natsuki needed to know where to go and the latter nodding and making noises of acknowledgement. During the whole trip neither noticed the blue Toyota following them, nearly the whole way.

Natsuki sat with her guide, reading as fast as she could. She was waiting for Shizuru to come back while the girl got some information. Apparently her school had entered a big competition of some sort and had failed to gather all the information they needed. When Natsuki asked why they couldn't have just mailed it or something, Shizuru shrugged and said, "It gives us something to do."

It seemed they only sent a handful of students, the top five or so, to go. Natsuki turned the page, focusing learning as much as she could, she figured reading this was for her own good too. Be prepared, like they say. The car was all silence and the parking lot was quite too, all in all this was the most peace she'd had in days.

Her phone began ringing making her absentmindedly drop the guide, loosing the page, she checked the caller ID and couldn't recognize the number, "Hello?" She said quietly. No one answered and she repeated it again, still no answer. Natsuki hung up and reached for her fallen book, must have been a wrong number.

She flipped through the pages before finding the one she had been on. Today was turning out to be a nice day, to her surprise and almost found herself enjoying it. The best part was that Natsuki didn't have to do much, just drive to one more stop and be done with it.

"What a diligent student." The voice took her by surprise causing her to drop, yet again, the guide. Shizuru was right outside the window holding an envelope. She got inside and noticed Natsuki's cell phone, "You where talking to someone?"

"Naw, someone called me." Natsuki tossed the guide on the back seat, "No one answered though, so I just hung up."

"I see." Was all Shizuru said before gaining a thoughtful look.

"Is something wrong?" Natsuki asked, finding it strange to see an emotion other than calm on Shizuru's face.

Shizuru shook her head before smiling, "I was just thinking about the next stop. It's a little further away."

"Ah." She said suspiciously but let it go any ways. If Natsuki had know Shizuru a little bit longer, she might have been able to detect the uneasy tone in the brunette's voice, but since Natsuki wasn't one to pry she drove away. The drive to next and last stop was filled with slightly more conversation as they got more comfortable in each others presence.

This building was smaller than the first one they'd stopped at but Shizuru told her that here, she was sent in for her own collage purposes. Her school was pushing her to make a choice as soon as possible.

Natsuki waited again in the car while Shizuru did whatever it was than she came for, she was reading still and enjoying her small time when her phone rung again. The blunette didn't recognize the number and narrowed her. "Hello?"

At the empty sound of silence many thoughts crossed Natsuki's mind, all along the lines of 'was the same person who called before?' or if some one was playing her a prank. She didn't care much as she hung up annoyed again. "How stupid."

"What is?" Shizuru asked as she sat down, this time Natsuki wasn't surprised.

"I got another call." She said in a bored tone, then she started the engine to go back. Shizuru looked at her a little strangely then, there was a small flash of suspicion in her eyes before she toned it down and snnaped out of whatever made her do that. Natsuki stared at the girl for a second finding her odd, "There is definitley something weird with you."

Shizuru didn't know wether she should speak, after all it was only her suspicion. Natsuki doesn't need to hear her, most likely wrong, guess any ways. That's what Shizuru thought, but seeing the persistence in Natsuki she decided to let it out.

"I think I know whose been calling you." Shizuru said with a tirrd voice, "She's an underclassman in my school."

A classmate? It was most likely Shizuru's friend, but the brunette didn't sound happy about it. They might be fighting. "So you know her?"

"Not really, she just... follows me around a lot." She said uncomfortably, Natsuki quirked a brow. Does that mean this person was Shizuru's stalker? It wasn't hard to believe, some one like Shizuru having people interested, it just sounded dangerous.

"How do you know she follows you?"

"I've seen her blue car parked at places I go to regularly. Very often actually." Shizuru said simply, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"You have a stalker?" Natsuki asked plainly.

"Hai."

"And she has my number?"

"...Hai." Shizuru said a little more reluctantly this time but with the same normalcy as before, "Although I don't know why."

"And we're OK with this?" Natsuki asked skeptically, "This potentially dangerous person who might have more than just my number?" When she thought about it she didn't even know why Shizuru's stalker wanted her number. Shouldn't she like, stalk Shizuru? Wait, Shizuru said his person had been following her around for quite some time, so maybe she had been there when the brunette went to that club. If so, then she must have seen--

"I wouldn't call Miya dangerous..."

"Ohhh god, this kid has it out for me!" Natsuki said exasperatedly as she looked out the side view mirror, the blue Toyota was speeding up. Must be the stalker.

Shizuru gave her a questioning look which Natsuki returned wholeheartedly, did Shizuru not see it? "Don't you get it? This brat must be pissed about the time that... night-- when we..." Natsuki hinted, hoping that Shizuru could fill in the rest and not force her to finish. The understatement in the brunette's eyes made her relax. Until--

"... had sex?"

"SHIZURU!" The car spun dangerously on the turn as Natsuki lost control for a brief moment, she was sure her face was flushed but weather in embarrassment or agitation she could not tell. After a few seconds she finally got a hold of the vehicle, "You didn't-- you don't have to say it like that!"

"Ara, now that was dangerous." Shizuru said as she placed her hands on her lap again, as they had been on the dashboard to keep her steady when the car spun. "Well, that is the biggest possibility is it not?"

"That doesn't mean you gotta just say it out loud!" Natsuki yelled completely flustered, she couldn't believe she was having this conversation. _Forget, we were supposed to forget!_ And why was Shizuru so calm about this?

"If it was such a horrible night, I am sorry for my part." There was a noticeable change within the brunette that Natsuki could plainly see, so many be she wasn't as unaffected as Natsuki thought. Then, she heard a sob.

"It's not like that, I'm sure it was fun!" ....Wait. She stopped to think about what she had just said and mentally smacked herself. She was not made for situations like these. Well, at least if it made Shizuru feel better. The brunette stiffened and began to turn around, Natsuki frowned when she saw the girl's shoulders shake.

To Natsuki's surprise, Shizuru started laughing.

The brunette left Natsuki speechless as she went on getting louder and louder. Shizuru held her stomach as she wiped a tear that started rolling down her cheek. She had no idea Natsuki would fall for the act so perfectly!

Natsuki on the other hand held the steering wheel in a death grip, wishing to somehow disappear from her current position. Was Shizuru teasing her? That's when she realized that this whole thing was like a big joke for the girl, that while Natsuki had been stressing the day before, Shizuru must have marked it off as just another drunken story. For all she knew, Shizuru could be used to things like those.

She didn't like that train of thought and decided against following it. She ignored the teen as much as she could and peaked out the side view mirror, seeing the Toyota still behind them, Natsuki growled.

"Damn, how the hell are we supposed to lose her? If I had my bike this would be sooo much faster!" Natsuki spat, wishing she could just get out of the car an simply just make this Miya girl stop. Shizuru, who by this time was now relatively more calm looked up at her.

"Bike?"

"Yeah, my motorcycle." She said as matter of fact, "It can get inside places this car can't, we'd have lost her ages ago."

Shizuru made a 'hmmm' sound before speaking, "That sounds fun, you should bring it next time."

Natsuki was about to agree but then she asked, "Next time?"

"Ara, didn't you know? This won't be the only time my school sends me out on small errands, and my father's schedule is usually filled in the mornings now," Shizuru explained, "so I'm sure he will ask more favors out of you."

Natsuki a sinking feeling at the news. This was her boss's plan? Was the man crazy? Natsuki couldn't afford to spend more time with the brunette, she just couldn't do it. "What about your mother?" Natsuki asked quickly trying to get out of it.

"She's a busy woman Natsuki, the Fujino's keep her occupied." Shizuru said shortly. Natsuki kept her eyes on the road her boss couldn't do this to her, wasn't there anyone else he could ask!?

_Quite the over protective father._

Nao's words rang in her head. If the boss had found someone she could trust in Natsuki then that could only mean he didn't have to find anyone else. _But he can't trust me! He doesn't even know what I did!_ Natsuki groaned loudly, it's not like she could tell him either, and by the comments Shizuru had made about it the girl didn't sound like it bothered her at all.

"Is it really a bad idea?" Shizuru asked, she was staring ahead of her with an expressionless face.

"I... don't know." The blunette said absentmindedly. While actually thinking about it Natsuki didn't think it was too bad, it was more like it was bad for her health. Seriously too much stress on a daily basis not to mention that, as much as she hated to admit, being near Shizuru automatically made her a little bit nervous. Why? The world may never know. It just made Natsuki wonder what would have been had they met under normal circumstances.

It also made her wonder if meant that she was the only one making a big deal out of things like usual. Natsuki reached the office and turned inside the dealership parking lot, her boss told her to bring Shizuru back here and then he'd take her home. The blunette looked around trying to find the Toyota, there was none. Good, it least the stalker thing was done.

She felt her phone buzz then, and took it out of her pocket as Shizuru got out.

"What the-- twenty four text messages!?" Natsuki quickly flipped it open and saw who it was. They were all from the same unknown number. "Son of a bitch!"

"Ara..."

"That's all you have to say? How the hell am I going to get this kid to leave me alone!?" _Keep your damned stalkers in check!_ She really didn't want to have to deal with this, it was annoying.

"Miya hasn't pulled anything like this in so long I actually thought she was over it," Shizuru said, "Just ignore her and she'll go away?"

"You're really not helpful at all." Natsuki said catching the small humor in Shizuru's voice, she saw her boss near the front doors waiving enthusiastically at them."Guess I should give him these." She said looking at the keys in her palm. She nearly flinched when Shizuru's hand came in contact with hers over the keys as the girl took them.

"Oi--"

"You don't have to worry about it," Shizuru said as she walked away, waiving the keys shortly. "I'll make sure father gets these."

Natsuki didn't say anything, she was still feeling the brief contact. After a second or so of just staring at the father and daughter Natsuki clenched her hand into a fist and shook her head. There was that feeling again, when Shizuru touched her. Natsuki turned to take a cab home.

Nao said this job was _the_ job, but so far Natsuki couldn't see what the fuzz was all bout.

_Bzzzzzz!_

Another text message. Damn High school brats...

**(Chap 3/) **

**To. Be. Continued.**

**Aww man finishing this felt good. This came out longer for some reason I didn't like that... Anyhow, this chapter pretty much explains one thing, Natsuki thinks too much. So the first official meeting is now over, and since that's out of the way the I can finally get this going, yusssssss!**

**Sorry for any typos or mistakes, I'm a bit sleepy...**

**Tune in next time for a taste of taste of Mai visiting the office and Takeda... being himself. Actually, I shouldn't have advertised that last bit.**

**R and... R? You know, for the longest time I didn't know what that term meant.**


	4. Coffee's For Closers

**Hi… Sorry for going AWOL on you guys but to make this short, I'm poor and things have been crazy. That doesn't excuse my lack of updating but I hope this makes up for some of it. As always, thank you for your support and consideration with this story, and if I forgot to address anyone who reviewed, I'm sorry, time has not been kind to me XP Anyhow, this website deleted most of my line break *sigh*…. It's a never ending battle. Well, I'll make do.**

**Disclaimer: I just… no.**

**[/Chap4/]**

Natsuki glared at the correspondence in her hands as she walked towards her boss' office, '_Three weeks and I still get no respect around here…' _She sighed. As soon as she stepped foot inside her workplace some jerk she never bothered to acknowledge shoved Mr. Fujino's mail in her hands and shooed her away. What an ass.

She reached for the doorknob about to turn it until she caught herself and awkwardly knocked instead '_Still haven't gotten used to that.'_

"Come in."

"Hi, I have some mail for you." She said as she opened the door.

Her boss smirked, setting down the papers he was working on to look up at her. "Ah, you're on time today I see."

Embarrassed Natsuki blushed lightly and looked down, he was never letting her live her first day down was he? "I've been on time ever since my first day…" she muttered before clearing her throat. "Anyways here, I should get back now."

She started heading for the door until an oddity caught her eye _'Is that—_"Sir is that a crossword puzzle?"

She nearly yelped as her boss quickly snatched her up and covered her mouth whispering, panicked, "Shhhh! Be quiet will you, if Maria hears you she'll kill me for not having signed the reports yet!"

She paled, Mrs. Maria, Her boss' secretary and possibly the oldest person on earth. The woman was a menace, in the short weeks the blunette had worked here she had seen the full extent of the panic she held over the office everywhere she went.

Wherever there is slacking, Maria is there.

Her boss let go and she glared, "Then why don't you just sign the damn papers?"

"I wil! Right after I find-" He reached for his puzzle, "a five letter word for 'a stupid person with the mental age of below three years-"

"Idiot!" She snapped.

He frowned, then hummed, "Hey, it fits."

Natsuki was about to say something again until a voice laced with authority overpowered hers, "What is all this ruckus?"

They both snapped to attention turning to find their fear, Maria standing at the door way suspicious and accusing. She looked from Natsuki to her boss, lingering on the latter before mentally saying 'well?' to encourage an answer.

Her boss bravely stepped up to the plate, "Nothing, nothing. Kuga here was just delivering my mail, and I'm just doing what I'm supposed to, signing my papers." He said strongly at first, before fading away near the end like a child, Natsuki stood up.

"Yeah, and I was about to leave so…" She trailed off before walking away scooting pass Maria who merely spared her a side glance and a nod.

"I see." The older woman said carelessly. "Then I'll be waiting to mail the reports in half an hour sir, excuse me for the interruption." She glanced one last time at her boss, content with the fear she saw there. _'Still got it.'_ She said to herself smiling mentally.

Her boss may find new ways to slack off every day he steps into his office, but she'd be damned if she let him get away with it. Besides, a little bit of tough love never hurt anyone.

**[Chap4]**

Natsuki heard a chair rolling next to her before an annoying voice followed, "What are you doing?"

Natsuki frowned, "Get out of here Nao."

"I'm bored I don't have any costumers." She practically whined.

"Me neither but you don't see me ruining your day."

Nao smirked, seeing an approaching figure, "That's different, you never have costumers, I'm actually busy at some point of my work day."

"Would you just leave!" Natsuki glared, her stupid red head idiot friend was painfully right. In these past three week she'd had less than a hand full of visits from her only costumer; the business woman from her first day, where they spend a couple of hours looking for the perfect car that apparently didn't exist in her costumer's eyes. _'Why does she have to be so difficult? What was her name again?'_

"Alright I'm going! Geez, I didn't know you were so eager to be alone with Takeda." Nao mocked backing away.

"Wait whut—" Natsuki looked around to find a spiky haired man standing right in front of her desk, blushing madly. The blunette turned to find Nao to far away to be dragged back as an excuse to free herself from the pest, cursing her now snickering _'friend'_ Natsuki mentally vowed painful retribution.

"N- Natsuki-chan" Takeda, having heard what Nao said and taking it to heart felt all the courage he never knew he had piling up into a front of confidence. Or so he thought, unable to see his own hands shaking, the man looked sadly like a boy struggling with his first crush.

"Don't call me that." She crushed some papers subconsciously at the horrible _'chan'_. Of all the things he could have said-

"I was w- wondering…" He swallowed seeing her glare and ignoring her rudeness, _'She must be using anger as a front.'_ He thought, _'Natsuki is so cute when she's shy…'_ He placed a hand on a stack of papers to pull himself closer and used his most 'charming' voice, "that after work, if you have time, there is this little café I know-" He paused for effect, and right before the scarred man could continue he felt the hand on her desk slip from right under him, knocking the very same stack of papers it was on and half of the things on the blunette's desk.

Takeda froze on the spot, watching as his literal slip caused a mess, and drained a major chunk of his 'manly points' right in front of his co workers nearby and most importantly in front of Natsuki.

"Takeda you idiot, move!" Natsuki snapped, hearing Nao's booming laughter at her side and seeing the buffoon, in front of her staring there like a moron. For his part, Takeda shook off his crumbling pride and began chucking things back on the desk, apologizing every other second.

"I'm really; I'm so sorry Natsuki-chan." He repeated one last time as he placed the last of her items, messily, on her desk.

"It's fine, just let me work now…" She managed through gritted teeth, seething inside at Nao's never ending amusement at her expense. "And I said not to call me-"

"We'll talk about that café latter, then. I- I'll see you around." He bowed- wait, bowed? Why would he- "Um, bye."

He left quickly not daring to look her in the face, belittling himself mentally at his non-smoothness, and leaving an annoyed Natsuki behind, left eye twitching.

**[Chap4]**

"Nao you Bitch!" Natsuki seethed, "What the hell's wrong with you! You know I hate that idiot!"

"You should have seen her face Mai- Hahahahah! The mutt was right about to smack him!"

"I was not." She said indignantly, hating that her friends still treated her like a child, "I told him nicely to leave me alone." She turned to Nao, "But you on the other hand-"

"Alright, eat your lunch, I made it myself." Mai pointed to said lunches proudly, honestly, these two, "I visit you both for the first time and you're already fighting."

"Looks great!" Nao smiled, ready to dig in, until she felt a hard kick in the shin from directly across and under the table. "Oww, what the hell!"

"Wow, Mai, this is really good." Natsuki said innocently and smiling.

Mai scoffed, "Of course it's good, who do you think you're talking to!"

Both girls ignored Nao grumbling and forcefully eating her own food with a pout. Mai came right during lunch time, happily dragging her friends to the break room, not caring about their usual tense atmosphere. As a roommate Mai was more than used to their squabbles and dumb competitions, and since it happened so often the busty woman started to ignore them altogether. It made her life easier.

They all got quiet as the eating began, Mai thinking about the next lunch she'd prepare for her friends during her future visits, Nao still snickering over the whole Takeda thing and Natsuki-

Well, Natsuki was failing miserably at keeping her mind blank. She took a gulp of her drink before going back to worried again, she had to find her costumer a car soon, or else she would ask for someone else, a better salesman. Like _Takeda._ She groaned.

"Natsuki, you ok?" Mai glanced at her.

"Yeah, right. It's been three weeks and I still haven't sold a thing, Mai, of course I'm just peachy."

Her friends stared at her.

"Did you just say _peachy_?"

"Would you just focus." She said with a small glare.

"Relax, mutt, it's the first month. No one expects you to be the new Takeda." Nao said offhandedly. "You'll get it eventually."

Natsuki took another bite of her lunch, "You just had to mention him didn't you?"

"Nao's right Natsuki, just concentrate on getting used to the office."

The words Nao and right together sounded so awfully wrong that Natsuki decided to ignore them, "And if I don't get it?"

"Natsuki," Mai said comfortingly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Eat lunch and relax instead, there's plenty of time to think about the rest."

Nao nodded, and with one last squeeze of her shoulder Mai let go. Natsuki was quiet for a moment trying to get back into her old train of thought, trying to figure out how to become better, but surprisingly enough she found it hard to make clear thoughts again. She looked at her friends who were already busy eating again, then concentrated on Mai.

"So Mai, how are you and your stupid boyfriend doing?"

**[Chap4]**

Natsuki walked towards the exit to the closest trash can with all of their containers and wrappers, she dumped them out and scowled at her lazy friends who had been talking with each other for the past fifteen minutes nonstop.

Apparently she had pissed Mai off with their last conversation and now her friend was promptly ignoring her. _'Tch, s'not my fault Tate's an inconsiderate moron.'_

Natsuki looked up and caught a figure of a person stepping into the building; she looked at the clock in the break room. _Shizuru…_

Every day at about the same time Shizuru would come in for her internship. Not that Natsuki even noticed or anything…

Besides, during the last three weeks Shizuru had been considerably distant,_ 'But then again,'_ she thought slowly,_ 'it's not like we were close to begin with.'_ Which was true, all they've done is put up with each other while also avoiding- well, that's not true. Natsuki's the only one whose been ignoring Shizuru, Every day the brunette still walked by her small cubicle and every time would Natsuki look away.

And what's even more surprising was that her boss hasn't asked for anymore favors from her. Not that she wanted him to!

As the figure walked closer Natsuki confirmed that it was indeed the brunette, the girl was looking through her cell phone like usual and had a Styrofoam cup of… coffee? Shizuru drinks coffee?

That won't do at all.

Natsuki chanced a glance back at her animated friends, yup, they certainly wouldn't miss her. She walked out towards Shizuru, catching the girl off guard, "Aren't you a little too young for addictions?"

Shizuru looked up from her phone, eyes showing brief surprise before calming down again, "Ara, Natsuki came to see me? This is surprising."

"Not really, I was just walking by." She looked away.

"Ah." Shizuru nodded, "As for your question, this is for my father, he asked me to pick it up on my way over."

"So you're texting him right now?" The question left her lips before she knew it.

Shizuru looked at her for a few seconds before answering, "No, I'm texting my teacher, I seem to have misplaced some questions for her upcoming test."

Natsuki stared, "If they're for a test then why do you have them?"

"I am her student aide, and since I have already passed her class before I help her with things like these." Shizuru answered smoothly. "But she'll definitely need these before the end of the day, I'll have to go back." She held up s few sheets of papers with notes and questions.

Natsuki didn't say anything and they both stood there in silence again until Shizuru's mobile went off, "That's her, excuse me."

Natsuki stood still as Shizuru walked a few paces away but still within hearing distance, she watched in complete silence as Shizuru's face lit up and noticed a small teasing tone when the young girl addressed her teacher personally.

Shizuru smiled, "Hello Tomoe."

**[/Chap4/]**

**Dun, dun, DUN! Aww there you have it, so lemme know what happening. I pulled an all-nighter for you guy, I hope you're happy DX **


	5. You're crashing, but you're no wave

**Well, here is a new chapter, I apologize to anyone I didn't respond to. Truly, it is two AM here and I'm exhausted. **

**Disclaimer: Must you make me rub my own face in my disclaiming of ownership? Fine! I am own-less as usual…**

**[Chap5]**

Natsuki stood on the side, quietly examining Shizuru's body language throughout the phone call with her very familiar teacher. "Yes, I just realized I had them too,"

There was a nod and careless shoulder rolling. Natsuki heard the muffled voice from the other end and wished she could understand what was being said- then she caught herself. _Why should I care?_ "I am at the office right now, I'll be heading back though… uh huh… right, I'll be right over. See you in a bit, Tomoe."

Shizuru hung up placing her phone in her pocket, as she arranged her things, Natsuki couldn't help but awkwardly shift on her feet. "So… that was your teacher?" Shizuru glanced at her, "You're pretty familiar with her, huh?" _What the hell am I asking?_

Shizuru took a second to think about the statement before nodding and turning back to her things, "Yes, I've been in her class since freshman year."

Natsuki mentally smacked her forehead at this, feeling extremely uncomfortable when she remembered Shizuru was a senior… in high school non-the less. If only she was in college. _For what? Why do I want her to be in college for?!_

Then, a quiet voice interrupted her thoughts, "Who?"

"Um… what?" Natsuki asked, confused.

"Ara, who does Natsuki want in college?" It took a while for Natsuki to realize what Shizuru was talking about as a slow teasing smile began spreading across the younger girls face. She said the last bit out loud and now the bluenette was hyperventilating. It was then that Natsuki saw something sparkle in Shizurus eye before she spoke again, "And for what purpose could it be?"

_Crap! Why am I always getting into these situations?_ Shizuru started to turn in her direction and Natsuki found herself trying to come up with excuses only to end up with incomplete sentences, so she started to look around for any sort of exit.

The younger girl's smile widened, "Ara, Natsuki couldn't possibly be referring to-"

"Your father!" She interrupted, watching as Shizuru stared at her in confusion this time. She pointed behind the brunette and hastily added in, "Look he's heading this way, you want to ask him to leave right?"

Shizuru turned around and found her Father following behind an irate Mrs. Maria, carrying a rather high stack of papers in a rush. "Hurry now, Mr. Fujino, I won't be able to start without those documents." Maria said without looking back.

Natsuki caught the slight narrow of Shizurus eyes after spotting the pair.

"Right, lead the way!" Her boss said enthusiastically as always, squaring his shoulders and huffing in spirit. He spotted the two girls and hurried excitedly over to them completely ignoring the turn his secretary made. Maria quickly noticed that her boss disregarded her lead and tiredly came to stand behind him. Seriously, that man has the attention span of a three year old, he can never sit still!

"Shizuru! How are you doing? Whoa, Kuga, that's some serious color you have there, I know I always ask but are you feeling alright?" Every now and then he noticed his employee had moments of… well, this.

"Y-yeah, nothing to worry about, it was a minor allergic reaction..." Natsuki assured feeling her face going back to normal. Thank god.

Mr. Fujino blinked, _Ahhh, well that explains that_, satisfied, he turned to his daughter, "How was school?"

"Ara, about that…" It took her a couple of minutes to get a straight cut version of the story to her father, Shizuru was careful to use brief sentences and small answers. It was like she wanted to get out of the conversation as soon as possible.

"I see, ok." Mr. Fujino nodded, then he started balancing the stack rather ineffectively in one hand until he gave a huff and pushed the stack onto Natsukis space, "Here, would you hold these for a sec?"

"Ooof!" Natsuki caught the stack hastily, _Why is it always me?_ "Sure." She grumbled.

He reached for in his pockets and began fumbling around, then his face brightened and he pulled out some car keys. He handed them to Shizuru. "Hand those to Kuga will you?"

He then reached to take the stack off Natsukis hands, "Could you take her back to class? I'm a little caught up here." He smiled yet again, in a charming manner ignoring Marias snort in the back ground. "They're for the same car; you should know where I keep it."

Natsuki nodded in defeat, she should have seen this one coming. "Thanks, I owe you! You both drive safe." He waved his good byes while Maria only nodded in their direction. As soon as they walked out of view Natsuki turned towards Shizuru for the keys. A prolonged brush of hands, a teasing smile and Natsuki already felt exhausted.

As she turned to leave, expecting the younger girl to follow, she felt a tug on her arm. Natsuki turned to see Shizuru push the cup of coffee onto her, "Ara, I do believe Natsuki needs this more."

Wordlessly she accepted.

**[Chap 5]**

They were walking down the school hallway in silence, Natsuki decided not to wait in the car this time. A few turns latter and Shizuru pulled a door open. There was a woman with a short, green haircut sitting at her desk. She looked up, smiling easily. "Shizuru, thanks for coming by." Then she noticed Natsuki, "And you must be Kuga, thank you for bringing her here." Tomoe smiled pleasantly, while all Natsuki did was level her stern stare.

"I've heard quite a bit about you Kuga, I am glam Shizuru has someone like you looking out for her." Shizuru has spoken about her before? Tomoe held her hand out to her for a shake and the blunette did not like it one bit. She nodded in the teacher's direction, grunting, "I… see," Tomoe retracted her hand, Facing Shizuru, "Thanks for remembering, I don't know what I would have done for tomorrows test if I hadn't contacted you."

"Ara, no need, it was my mistake after all." Shizuru said, handing the papers to her teacher. "I am just glad to fix it." She smiled pleasantly, more natural than Natsuki had ever seen her before. The blunette found herself staring intensely in the younger girls direction without noticing, Tomoe on the other hand looked between the two briefly. She took the papers with a pleasant smile, thanking Shizuru again, before reaching for something in her desk.

"Before you go, Shizuru, could I ask you to pick up this list of books? The librarian should still be around at this time." She said ever so pleasantly, handing the brunette her list. Shzuru nodded, quickly saying it would be her pleasure. The younger girl looked at Natsuki before leaving, saying it wouldn't take long before she left.

Natsuki remained quiet and leaned on a random desk, while she waited she had almost wanted to say that she wanted to go with Shizuru, just to not spend time with this teacher. There was just something about a grown woman being so close to a teenager. Even if said teenager was mature beyond her years.

Tomoe was taking care of the test papers as she gathered her thoughts, Natsuki did not seem to like her and she wanted to know the blunette better. "I am sorry about Miya, Shizuru told me what happened, and honestly I thought she was over her infatuation." Tomoe shook her head, "I had a talk with her though, she really is a good girl, and she is just confused. Please inform me if he misbehaves again." The teacher attempted to break the ice.

Natsuki leveled her blank stare, "Thanks, she did stop after a few days." She said, not wanting to share words with the woman, honestly she just wanted to take Shizuru and go back to work. There was just something about this woman that Natsuki did not like.

Tomoe cleared her throat and tried again, "Shizuru has told me a lot about you." She said slowly, "I am glad she has friends at the office, age gaps can be tough on her."

"Doesn't seem like it." Natsuki answered quickly, earning a confused stare from Tomoe, "I mean, she gets along with _you_ just fine," She leaned in Tomoe's direction, an accusatory look on her face, "Or, do you get along with her, I wonder?"

Tomoe looked startled, "Why, Kuga, I don't understand what you are talking about? I am only glad she has someone to share the troubles of being new in her environment, " Grey eyes looked deep into green, "I mean, doesn't she get along with you?"

Natsuki growled quietly, glaring at the teacher now, "Yeah we do, however; our interactions stop at the work place." Natsuki leaned closer a few more steps, standing before Tomoes desk, "As a teacher, isn't weird to be so invested in a single student? Seriously, you call her cell phone."

Tomoe stayed quiet for a few moments, most likely thinking of an answer to make her sound better, Natsuki had met her kind before. This teacher was probably only a few years older than her. The only noise in the classroom was that of the clock ticking, and both of their breathing.

Finally Tomoe looked up at her, "Natsuki, I have been her mentor for nearly four years, Shizuru is a very bright young girl. I only wish to guide her in the right path."

Natsuki took in the words; she looked Tomoe over, critically searching her for lies or deceit. The only thing she could digest was that this teacher did care about her student. However deep that care went, Natsuki could not help but remain skeptical.

Tomoe had a great angle going for her, the caring teacher, guiding her student the best that she could. Everything fit and yet there was something inside of her that wanted to yell, it wanted to strip Tomoes intention bare and reveal her real intent. As soon as she realized that she had no idea what said intent was, Natsuki took a step back, realizing just how much of her animosity was seeping out through the cracks. _What is wrong with me? So she has Shizurus number, I had Sakumitzu's at the same age._

Natsuki cleared her throat. "Umm right, that's… good." Tomoe looked up surprised at Natsukis sudden step back, both metaphorically and literally. The blunette backed of slowly, leaning back on the same desk she had been on before. Natsuki crossed her arms, looking at the corner of the room, "Shizuru deerves it." Natsuki finished awkwardly.

_How far away is that freaking library? I wanna get out of here, now!_ Natsuki adjusted the collar of her button up, feeling cornered.

"I am glad we understand each other." Tomoe said carefully, yet confidently. She looked Natsuki in the eyes again, gauging if there was another challenge, something Natsuki noticed immediately. Was this teacher daring her or something? "I truly do only want what is best for that girl."

_Do you mean yourself?_ Natsuki was about to say it out loud when the door opened, revealing a pleasant Shizuru walking over to Tomoe with a stack of books. Tomoe's demeanor changed instantly from gauging to pleasant as she looked at the younger brunette. Her whole body loosened, into a friendly slouch as she took the books from the younger girl.

The grey eyed teacher thanked her student and they both shared pleasant words, all the while Natsuki felt ill. There was more to this 'Tomoe' than she was letting out at the moment and she couldn't help but feel the need to just take the brunette and go. As the pleasantries went on, Natsuki felt numb. _Don't get involved, don't get involved._

Then Tomoe reached to place a hand on Shizurus shoulder, and before she knew it Natsuki acted on instinct- *Snatch!*- She latched onto Shizurus elbow without thinking, drawing the attention of both women. Tomoes eyes widened momentarily before narrowing in her direction. The youngest of the three looked at her in surprise but made no move to loosen her grip.

"We should get going," Natsuki spoke through gritted teeth, "it was a _pleasure_ to meet you Tomoe." She met the narrow grey eyes head on her grip on Shizuru still tight, "But we must cut this meeting short, duty calls."

"Of course Kuga, I wouldn't dream of interfering." Tomoe easily responded, and then she looked at Shizuru directly and added, "I will see you tomorrow." Only to find that much to her displeasure, Shizuru was still looking at Natsuki and only nodded a shaky affirmative towards her. The blunette nodded in her direction before letting go of Shizuru and walking out of the classroom. Shizuru said a last good bye before following the older woman and Tomoe seethed.

**[Chap 5]**

"Mutt!"

"What do you want Nao?" Natsuki asked exasperatedly, she had already had a bad day with that creepy teacher, after all.

"Where have you been? Your costumer wants to meet you today!" Nao said, throwing a sticky note on her desk with a time and phone number, "And why the hell am I acting like your secretary anyway?"

Natsuki held her forehead tiredly, "I didn't have much of a choice, the boss dumped his kid on me again." Babysitting did not sit well with her.

Natsuki could not remember the last time when her life had become as random as it was now. Seriously, not even when her father had remarried to that… woman, had she felt so scattered. One drunken night and her life completely changed.

"Whatever, just pick up the damn phone and find her car, If she wasn't the boss old business partner I'm sure she would have looked in another dealership by now." Nao shrugged.

Then the words hit Natsuki, "Nao, what did you just say?"

"Ummm, she would have looked somewhere else?"

"Before that."

"You suck?"

"I'm serious, asshole!" Natsuki yelled, annoyed, "She was an old business partner you say?"

"Yeah, I remember the boss and that lady signing documents like partners a lot in the past. I was a delivery girl first so I kind of read a lot of things." Nao shrugged like it was the most common thing in the world.

"Well, ignoring your breech in privacy, I think you just gave me a great idea!" Old partners, this was great! Natsuki had shown this woman the whole dealership twice over, never finding something worth her taste, however there was only one other place that existed only to be seen by her boss' family members and old business partners; and she believed that she had the perfect car for her costumer to try.

**[Chap5]**

**Next chapter there will be more office characters and Natsukis first sale? Oh snap! Thanks for reading, drop me a line and stick around **


	6. Feeling Sorry

**What's this, another chapter? Yeah… This one's got some development going on hope you enjoy. I remember when I used to write so much up here, now I got nothing. Thanks to all my reviewers, by the way.**

**Disclaimer: Still broke in every way, I claim nothing.**

**[Chap 6]**

Natsuki stepped into the office the next day heading for her cubicle when suddenly a figure appeared on her way. "N-Natsuki, where are you going?"

It was none other than the stuttering mess known as Takeda. She did not need this so early in the morning; actually she'd prefer to skip him all together. "Uhh, getting to work?"

He looked confused before brightening up in thought, "Nobody's told you yet? Today is our end of the month meeting; we tally up our sales and see who wins for the month." Natsuki could feel her stomach drop at the thought of her non existing sales. "Of course, I already know who is going to win again." Masashi smirked confidently, trying to look impressive while massaging his chin.

When Natsuki noticed that he was about to open his mouth again, she interrupted, "So… can you tell me which room it's at?" She'd take seeing her failures in public than hearing another, 'Masashi is so great' speech any day.

"Sure, I'll walk you," Masashi said, looking momentarily put off, not many interrupted his inspiring ramblings.

"You really don't have to, just tell me-"

"None sense, we'll get to walk and talk this way. As I was saying…" And so the dreaded 'Masashi is so great' speech began and Natsuki had to wonder what it was about this place that screwed her at every turn that she took.

Thankfully this walk was short as they reached the meeting room down the hall. Takeda kept talking enthusiastically, not noticing that Natsuki was spacing out, thinking of anywhere else she would rather be. Seriously though, she would really rather be anywhere else.

The room was full of people sitting at the tables, chatting excitedly, asking each other what their total was. The numbers varied from high one digits to the doubles. She tuned it out and spotted Nao, in a rush to rid herself of Takeda, she turned to him briefly, "Thanks for bringing me here, I'll find a seat."

She was gone before he could even react, _'Ok, she's always rushing off when you are around, that's a good sign, she's nervous!'_ He repeated over and over every time this happened. It was his own cheer to keep him company when Natsuki would not.

In her rush, Natsuki did not notice the red eyes following them as they entered, seeing their interactions from the front of the room. By the time she did notice the younger girl was looking already elsewhere.

Mr. Fujino stood up, clearing his throat before speaking in his booming voice. "Alright, this month's meeting will now commence!" Once he got every ones attention he smiled, "As it is customary we will proceed with the dealership's anthem, written by yours truly!"

He struck a directors pose before he noticed all of the blank stares that met with his. From behind him, Maria looked just as blank, saying, "I told you nobody memorizes it."

A shadow fell over Fujino's eyes, nobody willing to speak.

"Why must we go through this every month? This anthem helped build what is now one of the biggest dealerships on the map! It inspired many a salesperson, gave hope through many a hardship, yet all it ever gains from people is their forgetfulness and ridicule. Ohhh, how sad days have become." He stopped for dramatic effect, looking downcast as everyone in the room surprisingly enough began to look guilty, the silence starched until Fujinos face bounced up again, "But I brought copies though, so it's all good. Maria, if you would pass these, please." Ignoring the collective groan from everyone around the room, the man smiled on.

She said nothing as she distributed the sheets and took her seat again. "Now then, let's begin our proud anthem, 'Winter Child!'"

From her spot behind her father, Natsuki saw Shizuru cover a rather heavy facepalm with by rubing her eyes furiously. _'Heh. Well that's amusing. '_

The meeting moved on at a surprisingly professional pace, coming from Mr. Fujino. As soon as the anthem was over, the man switched personalities. First he addressed news and complaints, then he got out the suggestion box. Fujino read every single one, even the ridiculous ones obviously mean as a joke. Maria took the stand next to point out any outstanding behavior she had been a witness of.

Their boss took a moment after that to talk about the new car models coming in next month, and some special assignments he has under way. Assignments for which you need an impressive sales average to be considered for.

Then finally it was time for the numbers, he uncovered a dry eraser board with names and numbers, after a minute of looking for herself, Mr. Fujino told her she was exempt for this month. Natsuki released the breath she had been holding though out the meeting.

Fujino started with the group that sold the least, giving tips and stern encouragement. He was straight faced with every person. Finally everyone was addressed except the top three.

"Now we reveal out top three," Fujino took out some cards, "At number three we have Nao, with sixteen sold this month, congratulations." Natsuki looked at her friend in shock, for all her laziness, Nao actually did stuff… Nao, on the other hand crossed her arms moodily, angrily muttering at herself.

"Akira, you got second with place eighteen sold. Good job."

"Thank you." Akira said respectfully.

"And that leaves Masashi, our top salesman this month again with twenty five cars sold this month." Everyone clapped unenthusiastically, the routine long worn out by now. Everyone looked bored a Masashi stepped up, a look of mock shock on his face. Natsuki on the other hand looked had a very real stunned expression, _'This guy got a huge gap on the second place! I couldn't even sell one!'_

"The number's a bit small for you don't you think?" Fujino said as he clapped Takeda on the back.

"Yeah, I apologize, I found myself… distracted this month." He looked directly at Natsuki for a second, as he said that before turning back to his boss "Won't happen again though."

"Everyone gets an off month. Here is your prize," He handed Takeda a wrapped box, "We'll place your picture on the 'Employee of the month' wall again."

"Thank you so much! I couldn't have done it without you guys." He addressed the room, the only people who looked interested though, where the usual crown of girls that always went crazy for Takeda, some people looked downright insulted.

Mr. Fujino said some words There wasn't much left to say after that, the meeting closed quickly and Natsuki followed a still fuming Nao out. "I don't believe this crap."

"You said he always wins-"

"I wasn't talking about that idiot! I was talking about Akira!" Nao yelled, not caring about who heard her in the hall. "She's always sneaking in second place like some sort of ninja."

Natsuki blinked, Nao was pissed at the quiet girl? This was hilarious. "A ninja, Nao. Really?"

Nao glared at her, "If you ever get in the top chart you'll know what I mean. I've had second for the past three months! She broke my chain."

She mock comforted her friend as they both walked back to their spaces. As everyone spilled onto their own areas Natsuki decided to ask the question that was stuck in her head, "Hey, did the boss mean it when he told Takeda that his sales number was small this month?"

Nao stared at her, "Yeah… that guy is usually in the thirties. Now that you mention it the number was pretty low for him."

Thirties? Natsuki had never imagined that a person could sale so many cars,then again she had never done much research about it either. "You weren't even paying attention were you?

Nao shrugged, "I was pissed off, couldn't help it. Why the interest anyway? You just ought to get used to it, it'll only piss you off if you mind it too much." Nao spoke from experience of course, but like hell was she going to tell Kuga that!

"I'm not interested! These numbers are just beyond me. What did I get myself into Nao?"

Nao shrugged the insecurities off, "You're just getting those newbie cold feet. Shake it off mutt, you got a date with a costumer remember?"

In all the commotion that was the meeting, she had forgotten of course. She looked at her watch, '_Shit! I told her to meet me at the garage five minutes ago!'_

"Crap!"

**[Chap 6]**

_You know, I don't usually wait around._

_I am so sorry!_

_Relax I like you so that's ok. Just don't make that a habit._

Natsuki wasn't expecting to meet her again though. She was sure she knew which vehicle to head for.

_Oh my, there are so many lovely cars in here!_

They passed the Lincoln, they passed the Cadillac, they passed the Jaguar, and they passed the Audi. Higher and higher they went, up the price range.

_Hey, there is a Mercedes!_

_It can wait until I show you the first choice_

Natsuki had ignored the skeptical look on her costumers face at the time; it was easy due to her one track mind. They soon reached the destination and to Natsuki's pleasure, she received the response she was looking for.

_Ohh, it's beautiful!_

_It's a Bentley, one of the smoothest rides I've ever had_

Not long after that, they took it out for a spin. The woman could believe how obvious her choice was, then, the Mercedes, completely forgotten.

_That was amazing, what colors does it come in?_

Everything after that was discussed in Natsuki's cubicle, where the woman proceeded to fill out the documentation.

In a daze, Natsuki held the folder containing her first sale, a pretty damn expensive one at that, too. She stretched her hand for a shake, "Thank you so much Ms-"

"Drop the Ms and call me Ahn." She smiled. "It is regrettable that I won't see you as often anymore. I do come to visit that airhead often enough, though so maybe I'll get lucky."

"Y-yeah." She handed the keys and they shook on the deal. Natsuki stared off at her first official sale after Ahn walked out. Before the month ended, too. She had one tally.

"Would you look at that." She looked up to see her interruption and found Nao leaning against her cubicle's edge, smirk on her face, "A Bentley. Nice going."

"Yeah, it's great! I'm gonna take this the office!" She ran off, quickly finding the proper room, and as soon as she opened the door, she nearly jumped out.

Chie and Aoi where in the room, facing each other, much like the first time Chie's back was to her, however Natsuki composed herself once she noticed that everyone was clothed and decent. The other two women in the room turned at the sudden entrance.

"Natsuki! Hey, haven't seen you in a while." Chie greets, urging her to step inside.

"It's good to see you in more… proper circumstances." Aoi laughed nervously.

"I- ah, I just came here to drop this off…" This was their office?

"Oh, is that? Why, Natsuki, did you just get your first sale?" Chie eagerly took the folder from her, opening it up, Aoi looked along with her, "It is! Congratulations, keep it up!"

"That is an impressive model to sell." Aoi added.

All that Natsuki could do was nod, "Thanks."

"I'll get this straight to the boss' desk, he'll be happy to see it!"

Natsuki protested, "Chie, wait a minute-"

Aoi cut her off, "He has been waiting for this you know, don't worry, Chie is right he'll be happy."

"I don't think you should bother him." She said, wishing they wouldn't make such a big deal about it.

Chie ignored her of course, "Speedy delivery, I'll be back!" She walked past Natsuki, leaving the two alone.

"You're only supposed to organize them in the system aren't you?" She said weakly.

Aoi, laughed at her dark haired companions antics, "Chie gets excited, but to tell you the truth, we all are."

She sounded so honest that Natsuki couldn't help but feel comforted. She nodded, walking out of the office and heading back to her place. She was halfway there when someone almost bumped into her, "I'm sorry." The person apologized quickly.

"Don't worry a-" She looked up, seeing the familiar dark haired man followed by another, less pleasant familiar face. That's when she realized he wasn't apologizing about almost bumping into her. The second figure spared her a furious glare and short as it may be Natsuki felt the full capacity of it.

For there went, Reito Kanzaki followed by her estranged father and they were heading straight to her boss' office.

**[Chap 6]**

The door opened loudly, revealing a Mr. Fujino hunched over his desk, he looked up at the new comer in his office. His eyes widened a fraction after he recognized the dark haired man before him. The man was slender, a few inches shorter than him and looked sharp in his business suit; unlike Fujino himself who preferred to be more business casual.

"Shin, wha-"

"That is Shinobu to you _Fujino_." The man spat out distastefully, sneering as the last name passed through his lips. The taller of the two looked unfazed by the out bust, as if expecting it. "And you know damn well why I'm here!"

Fujino scratched the back of his neck, motioning for the other man to sit. This was going to be an uncomfortable conversation. Shinobu did, never taking his glare off the target. "So, you have finally come, Shinobu Kuga." Mr. Fujino said pleasantly, after recovering from the shock, "What took you so long?"

"Don't give me that crap, _Fujino_, why the hell is _my_ daughter working for you?" Shinobu growled, recognizing the other man's mask of calmness as an attempt to rile him up. It was working.

Shin had always been direct. Fujino, faked surprise, "You barely found out? Natsuki has been here for weeks, Shin," Fujino gave a long whistle. The dark haired man growled again at the casual use of his name as a manila folder was tossed before him, "She's even sold her first car, we were all so proud of her."

Mr. Fujino said slowly, watching the reactions the man before him had. He looked sharply for any weaknesses.

Shinobu stared at said folder in contempt, as if his anger would make it go away. He saw his daughter's name on the tab, _Natsuki Kuga: Fujino Vehicles._ Then he spoke, very quietly. "This is low, even for you."

They both sat in silence; the tension was thick, both men waiting for the other to make his move. Fujino leaned on the desk, placing his hands under his chin, while Shinobu griped the armrests of his chair.

"How is your dealership going, Shin?" The taller man said, he wanted to get this oh-so-pleasant chat over with, the sooner the better so might as well trigger the reactions sooner.

"You knew she was supposed to come work for me-"

"Well she came to me instead."

Shin felt his voice rising, "-and you just _jumped_ at the idea of taking her away didn't you? You jumped at the thought of ruining my plans again!"

At this, Mr. Fujino reacted; leave it to Shin and his selective memory to pin the blame on everyone else for the problems he stirred, "I ruined your plans? You almost cost me everything!"

Shinobu scoffed, offended, "You should have been grateful! I was your first business partner when you started off here, I was the one who helped you impress your wives family, Peter!" He realized he was at the edge of his chair, breathing heavily and sat back remembering where they both where; work.

Shin looked at the other man; he was quiet again, waiting to hear just what kind of skeletons Shin was about to bring up. He was waiting to see just how far their conversation would get. Shin took a second to fix his tie before adding, "Did you forget the past, Peter? Did you forget who you where before the Fujino family adopted you?"

Mr. Fujino began massaging his temples. Remembering the past always made him feel drained, thinking about all of the tireless night he spend building himself; all the times he had to bend over backwards for the Fujinos. Those times where over, long gone, things were different now so he hated looking back.

"You where nothing, Peter Alder, just some nameless foreigner in love with the rich girl, nobody but I took you seriously." Shinobu was the one who took his chances on this hotshot guy with nothing to his name but his ambition. Shinobu had been the first to recognize the potential this man had, and yet Shinobu had always been last in the other man's mind. How many times did they miss important opportunities because the Fujinos called and the dog followed? "And then you became a liability."

"So you got rid of me, right? That's all you've ever done, thrown people away," Fujino said crossly, forgetting the pleasantries altogether, "Natsuki came to me for a reason you know? You should evaluate yourself."

Shin glared, "Oh, I have. I've been far too lenient and believe me that stops now."

"For goodness sakes, what are you going to do, drag her out of here?" Fujino said, like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"I am going to crush you, and then Natsuki will learn her lesson and come back, begging for forgiveness." Shin said icily as he rose from his chair.

Fujino blinked at this, as if shaken out his anger. He rose from his chair as well, a worried look crossing over his face, "Listen Shin, whatever issues we have are separate from your daughter. Don't blame her; Natsuki has nothing to do with this."

Shinobu looked taken back by this, blame Natsuki? That's what Peter was worried about? Then he recovered quickly, clearing his throat, "Don't be ridiculous Peter, I said I would crush you not her." And for a second, Mr. Fujino thought he heard a mumbled 'she is my daughter after all.'

Fujino nodded, looking relieved as the shorter man walked towards the exit. He was about to sit until he noticed Shin was still standing by the door. The man started speaking; hand on the handle, only showing his back.

"You said that I almost caused you everything but I didn't, you still have your family." He paused to take a deep breath, shoulders rigid. "So stay away from mine."

With that, Shin left yelling for Reito to follow him. Fujino fell down to his chair in a heap, emotionally drained. He shook his head slowly. "You're always doing things wrong aren't you?" He asked himself. He spotted the folder on his desk and he couldn't help but give a small, helpless smile. He reached for it and began looking through it more thoroughly, "Well, there goes my chance at a partnership again."

Not for the first time did he wonder, for how much longer would he be at odds with his old friend?

**[Chap6]**

Shinobu rushed off angrily, nearly knocking someone out of the way, he did not stop, hearing Reito apologizing for him. He did not look for his daughter's face again fearing that he'd only explode and cause another scene. He had yelled so much, god knows how many employees had heard him.

Watching him go, Natsuki came up to the person her father walked passed, "Sorry about him, he has a terrible temper…" She said awkwardly.

"Ara, I am fine, he didn't even touch me. You don't seem to be happy though."

"I should be but he has a way of ruining that." Natsuki said tiredly. She didn't want to say more, until she spotted a spark of concern in Shizuru's eyes. Her mouth just started speaking, "He's my dad and we don't get along." She said briefly.

"Ah," Shizuru understood then, "It's terrible that he can ruin your mood."

Natsuki wondered why Shizuru expected her to be happy, this whole month had been depressing sales wise for her, so the younger girl had never seen her in a 'good mood' this late during the day. In fact, today had been her first good day, until her dad showed up…

"After all, didn't you just make your first sale?"

Wait, did news spread around so fast? How did the girl even know that?! "How do you even know that?!"

Shizuru pulled out her cell phone, waving is slightly, "Ara, Ahn told me of course."

"You know Ahn?

A nod, "I met her years ago through my father, they were partners you know." She said as if it was common knowledge to all, "She said to thank you again, and that she is really pleased with the choice."

A moment of silenced passed as Natsuki rolled the information around in her head, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Hm? What would have been the challenge in that?" She said easily, "Father gave you a really picky costumer in hopes of training you to look deeper into a person's profile."

"This was training?" Natsuki asked skeptically.

Another nod, "In order to be a good saleswoman, you'll need to learn all sorts of things about a person to digest which vehicle suits their needs." The more she went on the more Natsuki wanted to bang her head against the wall, "And with the type of high profiled costumers we receive, Natsuki will need to dig up things like job areas and connections quite often. Ahn is not the pickiest; there will be some that are by far worse."

This wasn't a normal dealership; this was one at the top, so of course they'd have costumers to match. _'How did I miss that?'_ Her boss must be so disappointed, she took so long…

"However the test wasn't about how long it would take, my father wanted to know _if_ you could make the sale to someone like Ahn."

Natsuki looke up at Shizuru, "So, I passed?"

Shizuru smiled, and for the first time it wasn't empty, "With flying colors."

**[Chap6]**

**Wow, I snuck in there waaay more characters than I had planned. Quite a few things got revealed here, I couldn't help it, some things just wrote themselves. As always hopefully you all will let me know how I did, drop me a line I appreciate every comment I get. **


	7. Little Talks

**I'm pretty excited today, I got my hands on a copy of the Last of Us and I can't wait to get to it! It has been a long time since I have been this excited for a game, I miss the feeling. Well, any ways here is number seven.**

**Disclaimer: Are we still debating this? **

**[Chap7]**

Natsuki sat at the club with Mai as they waited for Nao to come back to the table with refreshments. All of the room mates were celebrating again, this time it was for Natsuki's new found momentum at work. After her first sale Natsuki began to open up and grow. The last few weeks had Natsuki feeling like she might actually pull her job off.

"You saw your dad at the office?" A nod, "This is very disturbing, he was pretty upset with you the last time." Mai said vaguely.

"He's always upset with me, Mai." Natsuki said unimpressed.

Mai frowned. Natsuki's dad had always been a difficult man to say the least. He wasn't a man of many words unless he lost his temper and whenever that occurred… Mai herself had only been witness to that event once and it had been very unpleasant.

"That's not even the worst thing," Natsuki paused, "He was total trying to set me on fire with his glare and then he went straight to my boss' office and started yelling at him! I don't know what they talked about, but it didn't sound good."

"Have you talked to your boss about it?"

"I've tried but he always changes the topic. I don't know if that's good or bad." Natsuki remembered the times she had asked about it, her boss would get the 'deer caught in headlights' look and brush the topic aside. The man would not tell her and hell had not frozen over enough to get her to approach he dad about it. Natsuki glanced at her phone; she couldn't even remember the last time her dad had called her. Did she still have his number?

"It's too bad you had to see him on the day of your first sale, which, might I remind you, is the reason we are here celebrating?" Mai pointed out, extending a hand besides her as if Natsuki had forgotten that they were out getting drinks. "I'm trying to buy you a drink and all you've ordered is rum-less coke."

Speaking of that, Natsuki took a sip of her coke, "You know I've cut back after-" Natsuki cut herself off before slipping. She felt a familiar color rise on her face and immediately attempted to hide it. It was pointless though and Natsuki could only hope that the lights where dim enough to cover it, since apparently she couldn't trust herself. "-it almost cost me my job…" She finished lamely.

If Mai noticed her slip she did not show, instead she teased, "Yeah, you came in late on your first day. That's pretty bad, even for you!"

Natsuki scoffed, "And believe me, I have yet to live it down!"

Natsuki reached for her coke again. "Natsuki, I've been meaning to ask you something," Mai waited for her friend's attention before continuing, Natsuki gave her the 'go' before taking another sip, "Other than finding your rhythm at work… have you met anyone interesting?"

Natsuki paused with the cup tipped over her mouth, "Lots of people, everyone is pretty lively over there." She evaded; she knew what her busty friend meant of course, yet that wasn't a topic Natsuki wanted to have with a buzzed Mai. Honestly, for all of her wisdom, Mai was a hopeless romantic, give her a hint and she'll tear you bare for the whole story.

Mai huffed. "I meant _interesting_, interesting Natsuki." She made quotation marks with her hands, "Come on, you know what I meant!"

Natsuki sighed, looks like she has to shut down this conversation, "How're you and Tate doing?" That should work; those two always had something going wrong with their rocky relationship and Mai would jump at any chance to unload.

Mai eyed her slightly put off, she had figured out a while ago that Natsuki would use her relationship whenever she wanted to dodge a subject and she didn't know what to think about it still but for now- she put on a smug smirk- it would fail, "We've actually been doing great lately,"

Natsuki closed her eyes, well damn; if she couldn't even use Tate as a distraction then what good was he? Maybe she should have gotten wasted if this was the conversation they were having.

Mai's gaze continued as she spoke slowly, "I was just wondering if you felt more comfortable at work, if you'd made friends other than Nao."

"Mai that's ridiculous, Nao is not my friend."

Mai ignored her, "And you won't answer, is anyone giving you trouble?" She pondered out loud, "Or maybe there is someone?"

"There isn't"

"It's not that guy Nao always teases you about s it?" Mai thought for a second, "What was his name? She says he's got a scar…"

Natsuki almost shuddered at the mere thought, "Ugh, Mai it's not Takeda."

Mai snapped her fingers, "That's it! You sure?"

Natsuki nodded quickly.

"Good, honestly from what Nao's told me about him I don't think I could get along with him." Mai said relieved as Natsuki agreed. Mai tried again however, "Although, if it had to him I guess I could try to-"

"It's not him!" Natsuki cut her off.

Mai laughed, she then proceeded to name every person whom she heard her two roommates talk about at home. She watched Natsuki's face turn from amused- at the thought of some like Aoi and Chie- to disturbed when names like Maria's popped up. Hell, she even threw Mr. Fujino in the picture.

Natsuki found herself chuckling at some, if anything Mai was a great listener.

Mai whipped a tear from her eye, "I'm running out of names here, help me out!" She reached the bottom of her glass, good thing Nao was bringing the next round. Mai searched through her memory for anyone she might have missed. Natsuki always made these conversations difficult. "Ohh, I know who I missed-"

Natsuki looked up, waiting to see who Mai would amuse her with next as she too emptied her coke.

"-or could it be that you are corrupting little Shizuru?" She added dramatically.

Before she knew it, Natsuki found her soda going in the wrong direction. She started coughing violently as her lungs expelled the liquid. Mai jumped and reached to pat Natsuki's back.

'_How does Mai even remember Shizuru? Nao only mentioned her once!'_

"Natsuki, are you ok?!" She handed her friend water, "Here!"

Natsuki wasn't paying attention to her though as Mai's word echoed in her head. _'Corrupting…'_ Her cough slowed to a stop as the water helped. Natsuki couldn't believe she let the conversation stray like that; maybe she should have let Mai believe it was Takeda. "Geez Mai, you really think I'm desperate enough to chase a kid around?"

"I was joking…" Mai defended.

"I know, I know." Natsuki cleared her throat, she noticed Nao walking back, "took me by surprise is all." She said quietly.

Mai however, noticed the way Natsuki's body sagged, her friends shoulders slumped and her back slouched. The red head noticed the way her friend curled into her seat she was about to comment when Nao stepped in distracting her so instead Mai cheered as her next drink was placed before hear while Natsuki welcomed Nao's complaint about the wait at the bar. As the conversation changed, Natsuki pushed her darkening thoughts out of her head.

**[Chap7]**

"I'm glad we came here, you have no idea how long we've been looking."

Natsuki shook the woman's hand before shaking her husband's. She handed them the keys as she put the paper work in order.

"Every time I like something she always complains." The man said lightly as his wife slapped his shoulder.

She mock glared at him, "That's because all you ever think about is yourself!"

They shared a few more line of banter before turning to Natsuki again, "I'm just happy we had something in our stock that accommodates you both." She said charmingly. This couple made her third sale of the week, if she kept up pace maybe she could get in the top ten.

"Yeah, now we can show it off!" He gave a thumbs up as his wife groaned.

"Is that all you ever think about?"

He looked at Natsuki and put his hand up next to his mouth as if he was speaking a secret, "Se what I mean with all the hate?"

Natsuki smiled and put her hands up, backing off and not taking sides. The couple quickly finished their banter and left in their car. Natsuki walked towards her desk, she noticed Nao coming up behind her.

"Another sale, huh? Nice, you're doing good." Nao congratulated.

Natsuki put the paperwork in her desk for now, "Thanks, It's about time for lunch, you ready?"

Nao shook her head, "I gotta pass. There are a few more things I have to take care of."

Natsuki rolled her eyes, "Come on, you can't still be upset about your rank."

"Maybe I just want to better myself." Nao crossed her arms and turned her nose up.

Natsuki turned back to her desk, "In that case, my bad, you have a long way to go. Good luck, miracles happen once in a while."

"This is exactly why we can't have nice things, mutt…" Nao growled.

Natsuki turned to her friend, "You got third place Nao, and there are plenty of people below you, hell I didn't even place! Why can't you be satisfied?"

"You talk as if beating you is monumental," Natsuki was about to yell but Nao continued, "Look, I just want to do this, ok? I don't want to slack off and fall down the chart."

Natsuki looked at her friend seriously, "Nao you're talented at this. You are not going to just drop out of the blue but if this is your way of making sure, have at it."

Nao stood with eyes wider than usual, the mutt just complemented her. Wow. "Erm, well thanks…"

"Anytime." Natsuki stood, "I'm going to get going though, I want to make it in time for the afternoon rush." They called it a rush, but the amount of people that walked in only increases moderately. Still, Natsuki wanted to see if she could maybe bag another sale today. Two in one day, that sounded great.

"Yeah, latter." Nao walked off.

Maybe she should bring a book from now on if she going to have lunch by herself more often, that ought to kill the time.

**[Chap7]**

Natsuki was bored; it was lunch time and she was alone at the table. Not that she minded but usually Nao was there to keep her company, instead her friend was still obsessing over last month's ranking. It was odd to have a day free of Nao at work.

She checked her phone tiredly. No new messages.

Natsuki put it away; of course she wasn't expecting anything else. She turned to her food again and heard a chair in front of her move. Natsuki looked up and saw Shizuru sittings across from her. She didn't notice she was staring until the girl eyed her with amusement, "Ara, hello Natsuki."

"Um, hi." Shizuru didn't make it a habit to come in until after lunch usually, unless they had an early meeting or something. Not to mention that the younger girl was sitting at her table as if it was a normal thing they did.

Shizuru didn't take her eyes away from Natsuki, "You look confused." Then she proceeded to get her lunch out.

Natsuki cleared her throat, "You don't usually come in this early, what's the occasion?"

Shizuru paused for a slight second, it was a small pause but older one caught it, Natsuki had a feeling that whatever it was that Shizuru had expected her to say, that last line wasn't it. Shizuru hummed as she continued to put her food on the table, Natsuki didn't say anything else and instead waited for the girl to speak again. That is how conversation goes, after all.

"My grandmother pulled me out of school today." Was all that Shizuru said with her eyes closed and shoulders slumping.

Now it was Natsuki's turn to look amused, like any other teenager it looks like Shizuru sounded bored just remembering it. "So what did granny have you do, mark her bingo board?"

A corner of Shizuru's mouth lifted briefly. "I wish," She pulled out a drink, "She gave me a project instead."

That sounded weird, "Don't you have school for homework, already?" Shizuru also had extracurricular activities and the office work to boot, why would her grandma add more to it? Now that Natsuki thought about it, Shizuru was a very busy girl, Natsuki couldn't remember a time that she herself had so many things pilling up at the same time. College came close but it was only because of the many deadlines and work from different subjects at once

"My grandmother likes to keep me busy, she says it builds character." Shizuru answered.

Natsuki snorted, she could think of at least one solid example of why that logic failed, "All it does is make you bitter." She blurted, unconsciously reaching for her phone. The words escaped her mouth before she knew it and Natsuki found herself looking away, this conversation didn't need to go there. She missed Shizuru stare, the way the younger girl seemed to study her and instead decided to keep the conversation rolling, "What's it to her? How busy can _she_ possibly be?"

Shizuru tilted her head and thought about it for a bit, "I figure that as the head of the family her days are still very long."

"Are you serious? Here I thought she'd have retired and passed the title on to one of your parents." Natsuki couldn't picture herself being in granny Fujino's shoes and not have passed the torch on by now, she had capable people to take over, if Mr. Fujino keeping his business successful was anything to go by.

"Easy is not her style, I'm afraid." Shizuru shook her head, "I've been going to naginata and tea serving lessons because of her since I can remember." She remembered the reasons her grandmother had given her for those lessons, balance in opposites. While the naginata would make her strong and sharp, tea serving would make her smooth and patient. Eventually her grandmother would push more things onto her like learning music and encourage her-_strongly_- to join the student council.

"Really?" Natsuki was surprised to hear that as she looked at the girl in front of her, Shizuru was a very diverse individual, she shouldered responsibility outstandingly well.

"Really." Shizuru said softly. Wanting to move on from her grandmother, she continued. "Ara, didn't Natsuki's parents ever encourage her in any hobbies?"

The question instantly made memories pop up in Natsuki's head, "Of course! My… My dad especially, he used to take me to the shooting range." She saw Shizuru's disbelief though her eyes, "I'd watch him at first. Shooting would relax him."

The older of the two noticed the interest taking over Shizuru's face at hearing that. After the girl's run in with her dad though, Natsuki couldn't blame her; it was hard to picture a man like Shinobu ever taking an activity easy.

Natsuki remembered staring from her chair as her dad took aim carefully, _'Watch closely Natsuki, I'll get this one right between the eyes!'_ She would wait eagerly while he took his time, probably just to make the anticipation in her grow and keep Natsuki on the edge of her seat. He would close one eye and just as he had said, the bullet would always hit its mark. Natsuki had never met a better shooter.

"I used to just sit in the corner until one day, I asked him to teach me." Natsuki recalled the happiness on his face at the time, the way he quickly unloaded the firearm and told her that the first lesson was to get to know her gun. He truly had been a simpler man back then. "We would shoot together ever since. It was the only time we'd never get into an argument."

"You must have looked forward to it then." Shizuru said.

Natsuki nodded, "I did." _'Once we lost that, there wasn't much that kept our relationship steady.'_ Gloom started to fall on Natsuki over the memories. It took months after they stopped shooting but in that short time years of bonding were ruined.

"Do you still shoot?"

Natsuki shook the thoughts away, "Yeah, every now and then."

Shizuru spoke carefully, "Then maybe one day you'll both find each other again in the same shooting range." She began eating.

Natsuki turned to the girl, confused at the assumption, "I don't know about that, we haven't gone in a while." It had been years since her father shared those moments with her, the man probably carried on as if nothing had changed and Natsuki was fine with that. Hell, Natsuki herself had moved on, she'd gone into the range by herself plenty of times by now. The thought annoyed her.

"That's a shame; your father must miss it too."

The simplicity of the words made Natsuki freeze, she had never really thought about it like that. All that she knew was how it affected her and how her dad just went back to work like nothing happened. He _always_ bounced back easily. "Naww, you're giving him too much credit." She finished bitterly. Natsuki didn't notice the way her glare fell into place nor how tight her spine had become.

Shizuru looked at her; she saw Natsuki's hands tightening into fists and all of the changes in the bluenette's body. "Then I apologize, I did not mean to bring up such a topic."

Natsuki blinked, her irritation washing away quickly and letting her notice the way that her body reacted. "What? You had no way of knowing. It's ok."

Natsuki slowly loosened up. She would avoid talking about her dad usually simply because the irritation that followed was not worth it.

Shizuru leaned towards her, putting her utensils down and for some reason Natsuki found herself leaning back a bit as the girl eyed her. The look in Shizuru's eyes was one that the older woman had never seen before.

"It's not," Shizuru started, "From the beginning I could tell that Natsuki was not comfortable with the conversation yet I still pursued."

Natsuki reached to loosen the collar of her shirt. Shizuru was just a teen; there was no way that she could be that sharp right? Try as she might, Natsuki knew that she was only trying to fool herself, the girl before her was easily one of the most mature people that she knew. Her best friends were Mai and Nao though, so perhaps the bar was too low?

"I had thought that you enjoyed speaking about your father but after my last comment I realized I was mistaken." Shizuru looked directly into the older ones eyes.

Natsuki was not a person used to being read. In fact she was so used to being misread that she even built a mechanism to stop it from happening. Her usual indifference and frigid attitude was usually enough to keep the unwanted analyzers away and she liked it that way. Yet, as she stared at the girl in front of her, Natsuki couldn't help but worry; had she revealed too much?

Natsuki was so deep in her introspection that she did not notice the way her silence was affecting Shizuru. The brunette was stiff, waiting for an answer that was not coming. As the silence stretched Shizuru gave up and settled, she sat back on her chair. "A-ara, kanina Natsuki."

Natsuki on the other hand was trying to think of all of her recent interactions and how they played out. Nothing was different, from dealing with idiots like takeda that thought they had her all figured out to talking with her room mates and always directing when a conversation was getting too deep. That's where Natsuki noticed it; she always knew when to stop talking or how to change the topic in a flash. She knew how to keep her secrets.

Then she thought about all of her conversations with Shizuru, she always spoke too fast or said too much… the girl had a way of getting things out of her. Natsuki felt alarms going off in her head. That's when she felt her face heating up; she could almost picture the blood turning her red.

She saw Shizuru's mouth move to speak and instantly, Natsuki stood and slammed her lunch closed. It was louder than she had expected; it made Shizuru wince. "My lunch is over." Her voice was lower than she had wanted it to be, too. Natsuki didn't look back as she made her way out of the room, forcing her pace to be slow in an attempt to appear a little normal.

Stunned, Shizuru could do nothing more than sit alone at the table feeling thoroughly defeated.

**[Chap7]**

**Well here's another one. Things are slowly rolling along now! Well, as always, drop me a line and thanks for making it this far.**


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